Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 651 I'm so stupid

Jia Lian remained silent for a long time, truly unsure how to respond to Lin Ruhai's letter.

After much thought, especially when he thought of Daiyu, Jia Lian sighed heavily, had someone bring a candle, and burned the letter.

After burning the letters, Jia Lian gestured for pen and ink to be brought out, and wrote a letter that read: "For offending the Imperial Envoy, I am exiled to the South Seas." He then signed and sealed the letter.

Compared to Lin Ruhai's letter, which only contained eight characters, with no salutation or signature, this was infinitely more upright and honest.

It can only be said that Lin Ruhai, after becoming the Grand Secretary, became too protective of his reputation, probably because he was afraid of being scolded when he returned to his hometown in his old age.

To be honest, without this letter, Jia Lian would probably have dealt with the entire Lin family; with this letter, Jia Lian could only deal with Lin Shan alone.

Calling him cunning and shrewd is not an exaggeration at all.

Meanwhile, Xiong Fang was greatly surprised to learn that Lin Shan had been escorted there. He had assumed that out of respect for Lin Ruhai, Jia Lian would probably let the Lin family off the hook or even treat the Suzhou officials well, but he hadn't expected them to be arrested so immediately. After reading Jia Lian's letter, Xiong Fang was relieved; with that document, he knew he couldn't be implicated.

Lin Shan never expected that not only would he not see Jia Lian, but he would also be sent to prison and exiled to Southeast Asia on charges of offending the imperial envoy.

The governor's office acted quickly, sentencing the person in prison that very night, and then packing them up and taking them away early the next morning. They were then put on a ship and sent to Songjiang Prefecture, where there were ships that regularly went to Southeast Asia.

Lin Shan's followers were not exiled. Instead, after hearing the verdict, they were sentenced as coerced accomplices, each given twenty strokes of the cane, and then released.

The notice of judgment posted at the Governor-General's office bore not only the Governor-General's seal but also Jia Lian's personal seal, emphasizing that the judgment was led by the Imperial Envoy.

Everyone who read the sentencing notice fully understood the imperial envoy's attitude of refusing to delegate the task to others.

As the patriarch of the Lin clan in Suzhou, why would Lin Shan come to Jinling to see the imperial envoy at this critical juncture?

So this charge may seem unrelated to the reform of commercial taxes, but everyone knows why he was dealt with by the imperial envoy.

If even the head of the Lin family, the family of the Grand Secretary, is like this, how can others dare to harbor any illusions?

However, the way things unfolded greatly exceeded both Jia Lian's and Lin Ruhai's expectations.

They originally thought that dealing with Lin Shan would teach the Lin family a lesson, but unexpectedly, another wave of trouble arose five days later.

That day, the Governor-General's Office forwarded a report from the Governor of Jiangnan. The Governor of Jiangnan personally led 3,000 troops down the river, and after landing, divided his forces into several groups to launch an attack. The Governor led a battalion straight to Songjiang Prefecture and, without saying a word, captured the Prefect. Immediately afterwards, the various groups of troops marched towards Shanghai, Taicang, and other counties under the jurisdiction of Songjiang Prefecture, and immediately raided the county government offices.

The report from the governor of Jiangnan indicated that a follow-up investigation was underway and would take some time.

Jia Lian admired the Jiangnan governor's self-rescue efforts; his actions were remarkably decisive. Upon receiving the tax arrears reports compiled from various prefectures, he immediately led his entire force out in force.

The main difference between a governor and a provincial treasurer is that a governor has a directly controlled army, which is called a "governor's brigade".

In particular, despite the report stating 3,000 troops, Jia Lian bet the actual number was at most 1,500. The funds for these troops came from the provincial treasury, so reporting the 3,000 limit was inevitable. The governor might not take some of the money, but those below him needed some extra income; otherwise, what was the point of being an official?

It can only be said that fairness is the greatest common denominator pursued by human society as a whole, but the issue of fairness will always exist and will accompany humanity until its demise.

As Jia Lian was pondering whether to send Xiong Fang's troops to Suzhou to capture the Provincial Governor and the Prefect of Suzhou, given that Songjiang Prefecture and Suzhou Prefecture had defied the law, another announcement came at the gate: four members of the Lin family and dozens of their entourage had arrived. Jia Lian had no choice but to stop what he was doing and ask Fan Ping, who had come in to announce the arrival, "What's all this commotion outside?"

Fan Ping respectfully reported: "Four members of the Lin family have arrived, expressing their desire to fulfill their filial duty to Lin Shan. They wish to go into exile in Lin Shan's place and hope that Your Excellency will grant their request."

After listening in silence for a long time, Jia Lian finally said, "Are these people ignorant of the law? Do they think the laws of the imperial court are just for show? Or is it that the Lin family of Suzhou has been above the law for years?"

Fan Ping remained silent. Jia Lian turned around, picked up a pen, quickly wrote a warrant, stamped it, and handed it to Fan Ping, saying, "Have the guards detain the outsiders, send them and the letter across the river, and send a detachment to Suzhou to take control of all the Lin family members there, awaiting further instructions."

Fan Ping accepted the order and whispered a word of advice: "Sir, you are still the Lin family's son-in-law."

Jia Lian looked up and gave Fan Ping a sharp look, and Fan Ping immediately snapped to attention: "Your subordinate obeys!"

After leaving the house, Fan Ping immediately ordered his guards to take down the four leaders and disperse the rest of the entourage. The fifty-odd guards then bound the four men and took them to the riverbank.

The four Lin family members, thinking they were going to be thrown into the river, burst into tears and begged for mercy. They only calmed down after being taken to the other side.

Officials throughout the Liangjiang region and even across the country have recently focused their attention on Nanjing. Messengers from all sides are not allowed to delay at all, and any slight movement must be reported out.

Accustomed to their high and mighty position, the Lin family of Suzhou thought that sending a few of their younger relatives over to make a scene and cry would at least embarrass Jia Lian and perhaps even make him retract his decision.

It wasn't until the garrison at Pukou began boarding ships on a large scale that people in Nanjing started to panic.

Xiong Fang immediately went to see Jia Lian and successfully met him, only to find out what had happened.

When Jia Lian faced Xiong Fang, he said: "The Lin family of Suzhou doesn't want this imperial envoy to have an easy time, and this imperial envoy won't let them have an easy time either."

Xiong Fang also sincerely advised, "You are, after all, the Lin family's son-in-law!"

Jia Lian answered with unusual firmness: "Madam will not blame me, she will only choose to sever ties with Lin. Otherwise, she is not worthy to be my wife."

After fully understanding Jia Lian's attitude, Xiong Fang decisively changed his tune: "In that case, I suggest we immediately send troops to Suzhou to capture the Provincial Treasurer and the Prefect of Suzhou. If they hadn't condoned it, the Suzhou government wouldn't have handed over that ridiculous figure."

Without a word, Jia Lian wrote a warrant, affixed his seal, and handed it to Xiong Fang: "Go ahead and do it. I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong!"

What do people who get things done fear most? Naturally, they fear a boss who lacks responsibility.

The kind of boss who takes all the benefits while his subordinates have to do all the work and take the blame is probably the most hated boss in the workplace.

Having received the order, Xiong Fang's last shred of worry vanished. He immediately took his leave, but a mishap occurred when he returned to deploy his troops. Xiong Fang's military order reached the General of Jiangnan, only to be met with the reply that without the governor's command, the General dared not send troops unless there was an imperial decree. This was somewhat unexpected, as a sensible general wouldn't act rashly at this point.

Xiong Fang immediately understood the reason, turned around and went to the Xue family again. After explaining the situation, he made Jia Lian laugh in exasperation.

The Governor-General of Liangjiang did not hold military power, with Sun Huazhen being an exception. In other words, military power in Liangjiang was held by the two provincial governors; the Governor-General needed to issue orders to the provincial governors to mobilize troops and could not bypass them. Under normal circumstances, the Jiangnan Commander-in-Chief's response and request for the imperial envoy's order would have been perfectly reasonable. However, he overlooked one crucial point: Jia Lian was not short of troops.

"If he can't seize the opportunity, then so be it. I'll give you another order, and you can have someone take it and send another contingent across the river. They may fear the Grand Secretary, but they may not fear me, Jia. This matter is not over yet."

Jia Lian expressed his attitude very frankly. After receiving the order, Xiong Fang sent his trusted subordinates to carry it across the river.

Upon receiving the order, Shenji Town immediately mobilized more ships, and this time the deployment of troops was divided into two groups.

As for the General of Jiangnan, he didn't really think much about it. He just wanted to get a life-saving token so that he could produce an imperial envoy's order to save his life if he was ever purged.

Is this request excessive? To be honest, it's not excessive at all. But there's one condition: the Governor of Jiangnan must personally lead his troops to Songjiang.

With this premise, the nature of the matter changes.

Everyone realized why Jia Lian was staying at the Xue family's residence after they learned that Jia Lian had sent troops to Suzhou and surrounded the Lin family's house.

The Jia family clearly has an ancestral home in Jinling, and there are still people from the Jia clan in Jinling guarding it.

Previously, everyone thought Jia Lian was just pretending to distance himself, but now they realize that he is truly capable of ruthlessness, even though he is Lin's son-in-law.

In fact, even among modern people, the phenomenon of "family members protecting each other" is still prevalent, let alone in ancient times.
In the eyes of the ancients, Jia Lian's actions could be summed up in four words: "inhumane," which is a very frightening assessment.

Unfortunately, no matter what others said about Jia Lian, he didn't care. At least not now, despite the uproar and how newspapers in the capital and Nanjing portrayed him as a cold-blooded and ruthless person, Jia Lian remained unconcerned.

As things progressed, people gradually realized what had happened, but by then it was too late.

After arriving in Suzhou, the troops from Shenji Town split into two groups. One group headed straight for the Three Departments and Suzhou Prefecture, capturing and taking control of all the officials, awaiting further instructions. The other group went directly to the Lin family in Suzhou, taking control of everyone there and prohibiting them from leaving except for daily purchases.

This terrified all the officials in Jiangnan Province, especially the Jiangnan Governor who had tried to outsmart the system by going to Songjiang; he was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat.

He had taken everyone under control, but then he kept an eye on things, wanting to see what Jia Lian would do next, and decided to delay for a few more days.

Unexpectedly, Jia Lian directly dispatched troops from Shenji Town to Suzhou, where they apprehended the three officials and the Suzhou prefect in one fell swoop. The main officials were arrested and awaiting investigation, while the deputy temporarily took charge of government affairs—a rather subtle move.

As a result, the various government offices under the Suzhou Prefecture acted swiftly. The yamen runners, brimming with murderous intent, headed straight for the local business tycoons, such as the Shen family of Wuxing, and arrested all the clan leaders without saying a word, bringing them back to the government offices.

They won't reason with you; they'll just issue you an extremely harsh fine. Now is a critical moment for self-preservation. Who cares about past relationships?

After the Suzhou Prefecture took action, the Jiangnan Governor didn't dare to delay for a moment and immediately took drastic measures. The prefects and magistrates, who had only been placed under house arrest and not imprisoned, were immediately thrown into jail. Subsequently, various yamen runners launched an attack, arresting all the heads of major local businesses and merchants in Songjiang Prefecture and imprisoning all the prominent clan leaders in the area.

The governor of Jiangnan was quite radical, demanding that local business tycoons explain their tax evasion over the past five years. This demand was rather unusual, as it involved torturing people before questioning them.

Seeing the tragic scenes in Suzhou and Songjiang, the other prefectures were overjoyed, realizing they hadn't tried anything funny and had diligently carried out their superiors' orders.

At this point, some smart people began to realize that while the major industrial and commercial enterprises in Suzhou had been severely impacted, the Lin family of Suzhou had not suffered any consequences, except for that unlucky fellow Lin Shan.

The constables went to the Lin family's residence, but were stopped by the soldiers of Shenji Town. They were told to speak plainly if they had something to say, and not to even think about arresting anyone.

Finally, the Lin family in Suzhou paid an additional one million yuan in taxes, and the matter was settled.

In contrast, the Wu and Gu families, along with other local clans, have imprisoned more than 500 prominent figures.

Upon hearing the news, the governor of Jiangnan launched into a tirade of profanities in a secret room, using extremely offensive language.

When the latest news about the Jiangnan tax case reached Lin Ruhai in the capital, the Grand Secretary couldn't help but smile slightly after reading it. When it reached Daiyu, the Second Madam couldn't help but complain, "Why did you do this, Master?"

Those referred to as "Jia's faction" all smiled knowingly.

After learning the details of the Suzhou incident, officials from other factions angrily denounced Jia Lian as shameless.

The Lin family did take action afterward. All the members of the clan leader Lin Shan's lineage were loaded onto a ship and sent directly to Southeast Asia to fulfill their filial duties to Lin Shan. But that's another story.

Overall, the Lin family of Suzhou did not suffer too great a loss in this incident. They initially submitted a supplementary claim of one million yuan, but after Jia Lian rejected it, they submitted a figure of two million yuan.

This figure is neither high nor low. Especially compared to the total fines and restitution imposed on the entire Suzhou Prefecture amounting to 30 million yuan, it's rather insignificant. The Shen and Gu families fared particularly badly, each fined 8 million yuan. It has to be said, this is quite a blow. But who can be blamed for this?
The fine imposed by Songjiang Prefecture ultimately reached 25 million yuan.

Just when everyone thought the matter was over, they were surprised to find that there was more to come.

Imperial Envoy Jia Lian suddenly appeared in Suzhou without informing anyone, taking over the Three Departments and the Suzhou Prefecture. Those prisoners who thought they could go home suddenly disappeared without a trace.

No one knew why Jia Lian had suddenly come to Suzhou, nor what the imperial envoy's intentions were.

The subsequent developments were even more unsettling. Two groups of men, stationed in Shenji Town in Pukou, suddenly entered Songjiang Prefecture and presented the Jiangnan Governor with an imperial edict.

It wasn't until Jia Lian, in his capacity as imperial envoy, announced a thorough review of the criminal records of Suzhou and Songjiang prefectures over the past five years and dispatched a large number of people to investigate the criminal files of various prefectures and counties that the entire Jiangnan province and even the whole country understood what Jia Lian was up to.

Some less pleasant memories from the past flooded my mind.

Countless people secretly cursed themselves, "How stupid of me! I actually forgot he was Jia Lian!"

(End of this chapter)